Tulla Champions Again!
The fourth annual Iniscealtra Community Shield was a great success, with eight teams competing for the trophy. This was a charity event, and a total of €800 was raised for Ennis and Clare Samaritans to help in their invaluable work.
Group A
Group A was action packed, and saw some close matches but no draws. The shape of the group became clear after the first two rounds however, and the final two matches decided who finished as group winners, and who would prop up the table. The Babies proved too strong for the Allstars, who went through as runners up. In the final match there was not much between the teams, but The Giants gave it their all and Ardnataggle ended up bottom of the group.
| Group A Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardnataggle Athletic | 0 | 3 | Mixed Bag Allstars |
| The Giants | 0 | 2 | Cider Babies |
| Mixed Bag Allstars | 2 | 1 | The Giants |
| Ardnataggle Athletic | 1 | 3 | Cider Babies |
| Mixed Bag Allstars | 0 | 3 | Cider Babies |
| Ardnataggle Athletic | 2 | 3 | The Giants |
| Pos | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pnts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cider Babies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Mixed Bag Allstars | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | The Giants | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Ardnataggle Athletic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 0 |
Group B
Group B was an unpredictable group, and went right to the wire. Before the last round it was unclear who would go through, and it looked like Maghera had slipped up with defeat to the Patriots. However a thrilling final game saw Mixed Bag come back from behind to snatch the points from Absolute, allowing Maghera to progress.
| Group B Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete Mixed Bag | 0 | 4 | East Clare Patriots |
| Absolute FC | 0 | 0 | Maghera Marvels |
| East Clare Patriots | 0 | 0 | Absolute FC |
| Complete Mixed Bag | 1 | 2 | Maghera Marvels |
| East Clare Patriots | 3 | 0 | Maghera Marvels |
| Complete Mixed Bag | 2 | 1 | Absolute FC |
| Pos | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pnts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Clare Patriots | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | Maghera Marvels | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 3 | Complete Mixed Bag | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Absolute FC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 |
Knockout stages
| Semi-finals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| East Clare Patriots | 3 | 0 | Mixed Bag Allstars |
| Cider Babies | 3 | 1 | Maghera Marvels |
| The Final | |||
| East Clare Patriots | 0 | 5 | Cider Babies |
In the first semi final Mixed Bag Allstars came up against a Patriots team who were firing on all cylinders, and had few chances to make their mark. Three clinical finishes decided the fixture and East Clare Patriots went through.
The second semi final was a cracker, and was perhaps a closer game than the score suggests. Maghera, having gone two down, battled hard and got right back into it with a second half goal. They pressed, but the Babies defended resolutely and snatched a third goal late on thus sealing victory.
Going into the final both teams had looked impressive, and the outcome seemed difficult to predict. However, East Clare Patriots, who’d had a great run, seemed to finally run out of steam and the match was dominated by a still strong Cider Babies team. The champions’ record speaks for itself, winning all five of their matches, scoring 16 goals and conceding only two.
Gerry Dobbin, director of Samaritans in Clare, presented the winners with the Iniscealtra Community Shield, which can be seen proudly displayed in Powers’ Bar in Tulla… at least until next year’s tournament!